Josh Gad reveals how he told Mel Brooks about 38 years of Star Wars lore while pitching a Spaceballs sequel. Brooks directed, produced, co-wrote, and played multiple roles in Spaceballs, which primarily parodied the Star Wars original trilogy films, along with elements of Star Trek, Alien, and other popular science-fiction properties in the 1980s. Decades later, Spaceballs 2 is confirmed, with Brooks back to produce, while Frozen star Josh Gad is co-writing and starring in the project. Josh Greenbaum will direct the film while Gad is co-writing the script with Benji Samit and Dan Hernandez.
On the Let’s Talk Off Camera podcast with Kelly Ripa (via Variety), Gad shared that while pitching Spaceballs 2 to Brooks, the comedic legend asked Gad to tell him about what happened in the newer Star Wars movies. Gad proceeded to spend approximately 40 minutes filling Brooks in on Star Wars lore from the past 38 years. Brooks told Gad that “it really sounds like you’ve got your finger on the pulse,” with Gad declaring that it was “the greatest compliment I could have ever gotten, even though there’s no context for it for Mel.” Check out Gad’s comments below:
Mel is incredibly involved. I’ll share a funny story that I haven’t yet shared. When we were pitching him the original conceit for what we wanted to do with the film, at the beginning he goes, “I’m just telling you now, I want you to really go into detail because I don’t know a lot about the new ‘Star Wars’ films.” And I said, “Okay.”
It’s literally like, I am a combat vet just going to war in front of one person. I’m sweating, I am getting into every line and every beat and every comedic set piece, every reveal. I’m painting all of it, and I’m speaking to how this speaks to a certain “Star Wars” moment.
What This Means For Spaceballs 2
Josh Gad And Mel Brooks Are The Perfect Team For Spaceballs 2
While there is still little known about Spaceballs 2, Gad’s delightful behind-the-scenes story demonstrates the trust that Brooks has in him. With Gad being such an enthusiastic Star Wars fan, he will likely parody the long-running franchise in ways that are genuinely funny and done out of good faith. The original Spaceballs did a great job of this, as it hilariously parodied many aspects of Star Wars, both in-universe and in terms of the fandom’s relationship with it, but none of the comedy felt mean-spirited.
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Gad spending so much time in the pitch on newer Star Wars movies points to the wealth of material that Spaceballs 2 can parody. Much of this material did not exist in 1987, including the prequel trilogy, the sequel trilogy, Rogue One, Solo, and the animated Clone Wars movie. Only movies are mentioned in Gad’s comments, but there is plenty to draw from in the television series, especially since the launch of Disney+ and the popularity of The Mandalorian. There are also many recent science-fiction movies Spaceballs 2 can spoof beyond a galaxy far, far away as well.
Spaceballs 2 Has Great Potential
Gad’s love for Star Wars combined with his creative vision, and the prominent involvement of Brooks, are all promising signs. It remains to be seen who Gad will play, or if Brooks, Bill Pullman, Rick Moranis, or other original Spaceballs actors will return. Nevertheless, from Kylo Ren to Grogu, there are many newer characters who have immense potential to be parodied, especially with Brooks now caught up to speed on some of the major Star Wars stories released since Spaceballs debuted in 1987.
Source: Let’s Talk Off Camera (via Variety)
Directed by Mel Brooks, Spaceballs parodies a number of beloved science fiction classics, most notably Star Wars. The film stars Bill Pullman as Lone Starr, a mercenary who helps rescue Princess Vespa from the clutches of the evil Spaceballs who wish to use her as a ransom. While on the run, Lone Starr, Vespa, and company are pursued by Spaceball commanders Dark Helmet and Colonel Sandurz, whose bumbling attempts to retrieve Vespa make up much of the comedy of the film. Bill Pullman stars as Lone Starr, with a further cast that includes Rick Moranis, John Candy, Daphne Zuniga, and Joan Rivers.
- Release Date
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June 24, 1987
- Runtime
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96 minutes
- Cast
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John Candy
, Daphne Zuniga
, Mel Brooks
, Rick Moranis
, Bill Pullman - Director
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Mel Brooks
- Writers
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Mel Brooks
, Ronny Graham
, Thomas Meehan